Victoria leads national construction activity for the first half of 2016

The State of Victoria is officially leading Australia’s construction industry for the first half of 2016, with a 9.8 per cent (approximately $939 million) increase in activity while the rest of the country saw a decrease by 10.6 per cent.

“Victoria continues to lead the nation – with population growth, employment, construction activity and economic indicators all reinforcing the work of the Andrews Labor Government delivering economic growing infrastructure," said Treasurer Tim Pallas.

During the same period, activities in Western Australia decreased by 39.5 per cent while Queensland’s and Tasmania’s construction activities went down by 6 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.

The latest figures that Australia Bureau of Statistics released shows that Victoria’s construction activity gained significant momentum during the second quarter with a 5.2 per cent increase, following the increase in March (1.4 per cent). On the other hand, there was a decrease by 3.7 per cent nationally.

The data released confirmed the increase in construction activity for four consecutive quarters for Victoria. This increase was driven by detached residential housing and engineering construction, fuelled by the State’s population growth as well as the Andrews Labor Government’s strong infrastructure pipeline.

“These figures reaffirm the demand across the state for commercial, public, and residential infrastructure to cater for Victoria’s increasing popularity as Australia’s destination state and the place to do business” said Treasurer Tim Pallas

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